Upcoming Event - Area Corn and Soybean Day

Purdue Extension Educators from southwest Indiana are hosting an Area Corn & Soybean Day for grain producers interested in receiving agronomic, as well as, a local grain market update.  The event is being held on Tuesday, February 5^th at the Vanderburgh County Fairgrounds Activities building, beginning with registration at 8:00 AM CST. 

Purdue University Agronomy Specialists Bob Nielsen, Shaun Casteel and Jim Camberato will be the featured speakers on corn, soybeans and fertilizer topics.  In addition, representatives from area grain elevators will conduct a panel discussion on grain marketing issues. PARP, CCH, and CEU credit is available. 

A complete list of speakers and topics is available here.

Upcoming Event - Ohio Valley Precision Ag Conference

Purdue Extension and University of Kentucky Extension will jointly host a Nov. 29 conference to teach farmers more about how precision agriculture systems could improve their bottom lines.

The Ohio Valley Precision Ag Conference will run from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. (CST) at the Vanderburgh County 4-H Fairgrounds, 201 E. Boonville-New Harmony Road, Evansville. It will cover data management, implement systems technologies, and systems calibration and setup. It also will feature local precision agriculture companies and projects.

 

"The variety of technologies that farmers and industry representatives have to evaluate for on-farm use is staggering," said Kenneth Eck, Purdue Extension educator in Dubois County. "This conference will give folks a better understanding of what systems are available, how emerging technologies might mesh with producers' current systems, and how both farmers and agribusinesses can manage farm data for improved economic and environmental results."

 

The conference will start with a presentation titled "Data Utilization and Management with Precision Tools" by Betsy Bower and Troy Walker of Ceres Solutions.

 

Morning breakout sessions are:

• "RTK Accuracy" by Tim Stombaugh, associate professor of biosystems and agricultural engineering at the University of Kentucky.
• "Calibration Basics - John Deere" by Ben Carlisle, Wright-Stemle John Deere.
• "Variable Rate Seeding - Can You Do It and Do You Need To?" by Bob Nielsen, Purdue     Extension agronomist.

Afternoon breakout sessions are:

• A repeat of Stombaugh's "RTK Accuracy."
• "Calibration Basics – Trimble/Case IH" by Kevin Roy and Kristina Nadin, Hopf Equipment Case IH.
• "Economics of Investing or Upgrading: Old vs. New" by Greg Halich, associate Extension professor of agricultural economics at the University of Kentucky.

The conference also will feature a farmer panel discussion titled "What Do We Do With the Data and How is It Managed?" The keynote presentation will be "Precision Planting" by Gregg Sauder of Precision Planting Inc.

 

"This is the first time we've pulled together a program with so much of our expertise in one place," Eck said.

 

Conference registration is free, but reservations are required by Nov. 19. Participants can register online at http://tinyurl.com/pukyregister or by contacting any of the sponsoring Purdue Extension or University of Kentucky Extension county offices. Those counties in Indiana are Daviess, Dubois, Knox, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick. In Kentucky they are Daviess, Henderson, McLean, Ohio, Union and Webster.

 

A flyer for the program is available here.

Blossom End Rot - Another Drought Effect

Blossom-end rot on tomato (Creswell)

Anyone who has grown a vegetable garden for any length of time has probably at one point or another experienced the disappointment of reaching for a bright red, juicy tomato off the vine, only to find the bottom of the tomato to be rotten. And this is a year this has been a frequent occurrence for many gardeners. 

The culprit is a non-infectious disorder called blossom-end rot that affects not only tomatoes but also peppers and eggplants. Symptoms of blossom end rot first show up as small, light brown or water soaked spots on the blossom end of the fruit (thus the name). As the fruit ripens, spots enlarge rapidly, forming a dark, sunken, leathery lesion on the bottom of the fruit. Sometimes the lesions will cover the entire bottom half of the fruit. Blossom end rot usually affects the first fruits of the season most severely and many times the symptoms will disappear as the season progresses. While it may appear unappetizing, the un-rotted portion of the fruit is still edible.

Blossom-end rot is caused by a lack of calcium in the fruit. In most cases, this does not mean there is a lack of calcium in the soil. Rather, there are environmental factors that affect the plant’s uptake of calcium.  When the supply of calcium to the fruit does not keep up with its requirements, tissue in the fruit begins to break down. The environmental factors contributing to blossom-end rot include wide fluctuations in soil moisture levels (i.e. letting the plant reach the wilting point before watering), rapid plant growth followed by a prolonged period of dry weather, excessive rainfall which can smother roots, excessive use of nitrogen fertilizer or fresh manure, and root damage. This year's blossom-end rot occurrences most likely are due to soil moisture fluctuations and prolonged drought.

As mentioned early, rarely is the problem due to an actual soil calcium deficiency, so adding calcium to the soil is not usually an effective control method, unless recommended by a soil test. Foliar applications of calcium are also occasionally recommended, however they too are usually ineffective because the plants do not adequately absorb the calcium and get it to where it is needed most. An interesting point regarding blossom-end rot is that it usually affects the first fruits of the season most severely and once the plant's growth and calcium levels get back in balance, the symptoms disappear. So, when gardeners who have applied soil or foliar calcium, or some other home-remedy, see that the symptoms have disappeared, they mistakenly believe the calcium application was effective, when in reality, it was the plant managing the problem itself.    

To reduce the chances of blossom end rot occurring, some preventive steps can be taken. First, maintain a uniform moisture level in the soil - do not let the plants dry out repeatedly. Ideally, plants should receive the equivalent of one inch of water per week via rainfall or irrigation. Second, test soil regularly to maintain proper fertility and pH levels. Next, avoid using fertilizers containing high nitrogen levels or excessive amounts of fresh manure. These materials can cause excessive growth of leaves and stems and inhibit fruit development and production. Finally, do not cultivate deeper than 1 inch within a foot of the plant to avoid root damage.   

Blossom-end rot will always be annoyance for vegetable gardeners but with a few simple preventive steps, its effect on production can be greatly reduced.

Buttercup Bonanza

Buttercup in pasture (The Buttercups of Indiana)

Does your pasture or barn lot look like this?  If so, you likely have an influx of buttercup; and you are not alone.  This weed has been very prevalent in area pastures this spring, due at least in part to a mild winter and early spring. 

The name buttercup is actually a common name associated with approximately 20 different weed species that are found in Indiana.  To complicate matters further, petal number and leaf appearance can vary within the same species, occasionally making exact identification difficult. 

The main concern with buttercup, regardless of species, is its toxicity to livestock.  While the amount required to be consumed to cause poisoning symptoms varies among species, all have the potential to cause drooling, diarrhea, weakness, bleeding, etc.  The good news is livestock rarely consume the weed, especially if there is an adequate supply of desirable forage.  Also, buttercup toxicity does not carry through to hay crops due to the break down of the toxins as the hay dries. 

Control of buttercup can be accomplished through a combination of soil testing/soil amending, mowing, and herbicide applications.  Additional information on buttercup biology and control, including specific herbicide recommendations, can be found in the Purdue Weed Science bulletin, The Buttercups of Indiana.          

Post-harvest, Farmers Have Lots of Work Ahead

As farmers wrap up harvesting corn and soybeans across the Eastern Corn Belt, the work is just getting started on many farms, with fertilizer, herbicide and tillage applications planned in the waning weeks of productivity for 2011.

"As we finish harvesting soybeans, farmers have started putting on phosphorus and potassium, mostly during the past two weeks," said Harold Watters, an Ohio State University Extension educator with Extension's Agronomic Crops Team. "Custom applicators were ready to go into the field for a long time, and we are glad to finally see them moving." <Read More>